


And I Fell in Love Instantly... Sort of

by the_Dark_Weird_Way7



Series: Fem!Cecilos [2]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: F/F, F/M, POV First Person, alternating pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-04-14
Packaged: 2018-03-20 03:52:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3635619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_Dark_Weird_Way7/pseuds/the_Dark_Weird_Way7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carla is a scientist. She does science. NOT public speaking. So she is less than thrilled when the City Council announces that she's to hold a press conference her first night in town. Can she overcome her stage fright to quell the citizens of Night Vale's fear of outsiders? Or will she and her scientists be rejected and forced to leave early? And what of that unusual radio host? What effect could six simple words said on the radio have on an entire town?</p>
            </blockquote>





	And I Fell in Love Instantly... Sort of

**Author's Note:**

> Part Two of Fem!Cecilos. Story continues on from Part One.  
> This work is brought to you by the song "Alright" by Young Summer. I don't know if it has any relevance to the story. I just played it a lot while editing and it's pretty good.

Carla the Scientist

When I was in second grade, my class was subjected to perform in a play for our guardians about the joys of spring. We were squeezed into these cheap plant and animal costumes and made to sing three songs, each of us basically yelling about what happens to organisms when winter ends and pollination begins. Plants grow, animals come out of hibernation and begin procreating, and the earth gets a little bit closer to the sun. I, being the tallest kid in the class, was a tree. When it came time to sing my song with the flowers, I looked out into the audience, froze with terror, and started heaving. Before I could do any damage to Audrey Jefferson's parents sitting in the first row, I ran (or rather, waddled quickly, since my costume came down to my ankles) offstage and ended up bursting through the emergency fire exit, setting off the sprinklers and alarm, and vomiting in the lot behind the auditorium. In the end, Abuela had to take me home, the fire department had to come to the school, the play was completely ruined, and my classmates called me the Puke Tree for at least eight years, until Kim Jin from fourth period PE stole my bra and somehow managed to hook it around the basketball goal, and all the guys started calling me C-Cup Carly. For years, even into my adulthood, I considered that moment from second grade the worst, most mortifying moment in my life.

Then, I came to Night Vale, and their oh so merciful City Council announced that I was going to hold a press conference, to introduce myself and my team of scientists to the whole freaking town!

I paced around nervously behind the curtain as citizens slowly gathered into their seats outside, my heart pounding and my lungs tightening. My blouse, nearly drenched in sweat under the formal lab coat I'd changed into, stuck to my back, although that might have been more the lack of air conditioning's fault than nerves. Thankfully, no one else was backstage to witness this slow panic attack in progress. The other scientists had all been ordered by a genderless being in a black cloak and sunglasses to sit in the group of metal fold out chairs that had been placed on the opposite side of the podium in front of the curtain. I was alone, blissfully shielded from the world by a thick red curtain.

It wasn't that I couldn't talk to people. I _loved_ talking, especially when it came to science! Give me a classroom of 100 students, and I'll teach them whatever they want to learn about the universe! I just loathed above everything else stages, and having an entire town judge how I speak and determine whether or not my team and I stay in that town!

Suddenly, an invisible, cold tendril wrapped around my body and squeezed with a might equal to that of a python. I felt the world flip, and I fell to my knees, struggling for air. My eyes rolled to the back of my head, and I was blind to all else in my reality. Five gender-indeterminate voices all hissed in my ear, "̛̗̝̤͕T̵̟͕͇hree ̮̟̪̞̦̰m̥̼i̸͇̝n̸̯ṳ̤̘̣̖͞t̴͚̲̬͎e̯̘̞̬s̩͓̥̝̩̰ ̣̹͍̼͍͜un͔͓̼̺̰̖t̖̟̗̩͈͉͓i̪͓͚̜̱l̡̠͖͈ͅ y̞̰ͅo͕̰̰̙̝u̥̪̯͙̺͠'̡̣̼͖͓̲r͍̹ͅe̡̲͉̲̱͈ ͍̹̝͓̲o͙̗͔ͅn̰͇͙,͈͇̫͖͉̩͝ ҉̜s̺̯͞c͢i̲̦̰̟͙̘͖͟e͍̭͖̭͇n̹̩̼͔ͅt̴̤i͉̦̤̲̜͙̜s̝̭̥̥̥t̞̦͎̠̗̦͝.̼̲̺̠..̵̗̝̹͍ ͚̼͉̠͈͜ͅB̬͓̠̯̺̼e͖t͕̺̯ṯe̡͇̪r͏̮͇ ̰ͅm̭̀a͓k̩̰͈̠͙͡e̺͉͚̫͎̦̳ ̵̗͎̩̠t͔̱̪̤̱h̯̗̺ịs ̰̞͙͓c͇̟̺o̦n̢͖̼͚̤̲ͅͅf͉͙̙̣̘͕ͅe͡r̸̺̜͎̘͍̬͎e҉̱̱n͈̠̣̣c͇̝̯̻e̥̰̩͈̠̼͡ ͔̭̱̞a͎̥͈͈͖͚̝ ̧̲͈̠̯̘g͍̝̙̟̘͙͡o͙̺̞̬̤̥͇͘o̶̠͔̘͙d̸̘ ̦͘o͚͓̺̳n̖̝̭̲̞͜ḛ̝̬̝͡.͏̠̹.̨͚͚͉͙.͔̟̙̝̱ͅ ̸o͍r̮̞͉ ͏̙̗͙ͅe̷͕͍l̟̦͓̱s͖̭͎̘̯̫e͏̯̼.̞̰̦̼ͅ.̳̠̰̘.͎͉̜͠"̭̥̮̬̪͞

Images of 'else' raced through my brain, each picture in excruciating and gory detail.

There was a howl somewhere out in the desert, and the cold tendril disappeared.

My body shook violently, sweat now dripping freely from my forehead. This time, however, I knew it wasn't the heat. I gulped in the wonderful, musty air, glad to be able to take in oxygen again. A warm hand touched my shoulder, and my eyes rolled back to where they were supposed to be, bringing me out of endless blindness and into a bright black glowing room. An elderly woman with long gray hair and rich dark skin was crouched down beside me and patting my hand, which she had taken hold of at some point. Her face was solemn and sympathetic. "I'll shoot a wild guess and say that was your first time dealin' with the City Council directly?"

I nodded.

She sighed. "Yeah, they're really somethin' ain't they? But hey, as long as you follow the rules and you stay out their way, you won't have to go through that again."

I bobbed my head again, still dazed and looking up in awe at the creature touching my shoulder. "What is...?" I started to say, but couldn't find the words to finish it.

The old woman looked up at whatever it was beside her, and smiled fondly. "Oh, that's just Erika! They're an angel. But they're harmless, don't you worry."

I was in no mood to tell her that angels were just figments of theology. Part of me was afraid the City Council would come back if it left.

 _I heard that you know_ , a voice echoed inside my head. It was no where near as chilling as the voices I'd heard before, but it still made the hair on the back of my neck stand. That had to be Erika.

Sorry, I thought.

 _It's fine. I get it all the time,_ they replied in my mind.

The old woman took a corn muffin off of the platter she'd sat down and offered it to me. "You should eat. It won't do you any good to go out there on an empty stomach."

My stomach growled. When was the last time I ate? Yesterday at the gas station? Maybe the day before? I had decided to skip the early dinner the scientists were having an hour ago at Big Rico's to celebrate our first night here, too afraid of having something to vomit up while onstage. How had I gone so long without eating? How had I not _noticed_ I'd gone so long without eating? I accepted the corn muffin and took a bite. It wasn't too bad, but it could really use salt.

"I know it's not the best," the old woman admitted sheepishly, as if she too could read my thoughts. "All my angels took the salt at my house for a godly mission, and I haven't gotten around to getting more just yet. I promise you, my cooking's a lot better than this."

I told her it was already pretty good, and she seemed pleased. Then, she reached into her bag when I'd finished off the tiny muffin and pulled out a golden flask, holding it out to me. "Go ahead and take a sip. It ain't the strongest punch in the county, but it'll put some pep in your step."

I shook my head. "No, thank you. I need to have a clear head for..."

I paused as a man's voice come over the PA system. "Ladies, gentlemen, and all else, the conference will be starting in a moment, so please finish up any necessary rituals  before. And no, Larry, for the fifth time, you cannot bring feral vultures into the building! I don't care if you adopted it as your own daughter, it's still a wild animal and should be left chained outside with the other pets! Rules are rules!"

A gruff voice presumably coming from the entrance of the hall replied, "Ah, stuff it, Harlan! Didn't your mama ever teach you how to treat a lady?! My Becky has only pecked at one person so far, and she apologized right after!"

Everyone else laughed.

My head spun. This town, however scientifically interesting, was crazy. "Actually, on second thought..."

The elderly woman handed me the golden flask and without bothering to consider what liquid might be contained and whether or not it could be poisonous, I took a long drink, letting it slide easily down my throat and into my belly. Instantly, I felt stronger and definitely more present. I wiped my mouth, handed her the flask with a quick thank you, and stood up. My legs no longer shook as they had before. The sweat that had soaked into my blouse dried. My lungs took in the right amount of air and exhaled the same. My pulse slowed to a mundane crawl. I was calm, cool, and confident.

 I decided I was going to have to run some tests on that flask later on.

She smiled. "Didn't I tell ya?"

She had.

The old woman let me help her up and clasped my hand. "Josephina Ortiz. Everyone round here calls me Josie."

"Carla. Great to meet you."

Outside, a horn blew, and a new voice came over the PA system. It was a woman who introduced herself as Mayor Winchell. She welcomed the audience to the press conference and then, started chanting in a language I couldn't undertstand. Was that Sumerian?

The "angel" named Erika leaned down and whispered something into Josie's ear. She nodded.

Josie grabbed the platter of corn muffins and squeezed my hand. "Looks like it's starting," she whispered. "I better go find a seat. Good luck on your conference, dear!"

Before I could say another word, she and the "angel" were gone and I was alone again.

*********

 

Cecile G. Palmer

Mayor Winchell was in the middle of chanting praise to the merciful desert gods in modified Sumerian when Josie and her angel finally sat down in the balcony. My phone vibrated the second she touched the chair.

**UR right. She's cute. And not 2 dangerous. Can I expect an engagement party soon? ;)**

I rolled my eyes and texted back, **Doubt it. She's cute, but she's still an outsider. Not my type.  
**

From the balcony, Josie smirked and turned her attention to the stage. 

My phone vibrated one more time. **We'll see.**

Mayor Pamela Winchell finished out her chanting with a full minute of screeching, and grinned. "People of Night Vale, as you well know by now, we have guests in our town. Strange guests. Fearsome guests. Terrible guests who come from the bowels of some unknown ring of hell to possibly bring harm and disruption to our small community. And as awful as they may be, and as much as we fear outsiders, they are still guests and Night Vale has a long tradition of warm hospitality. So please, join me in welcoming Carla the Scientist to speak on behalf of her team of other scientists!"

The curtain parted and Carla--beautiful, yet strange Carla--walked forward to the mahogany podium. In the spotlight I noticed that her hair, previously assumed to be made entirely of waves of silky void, had a premature (if not dignified) touch of gray at the temples. She hadn't struck me as an older woman when we'd talked earlier, but then, age was just a construct of our feeble attempt to tame the ever marching machine of time, so it probably didn't matter.

She looked out at the citizens of Night Vale, gulping nervously, and cleared her throat into the microphone. The sound echoed through the silent hall.

Then, she spoke.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Carla began. "It's wonderful to be here. My scientists and I have traveled a long way, and we're so thrilled to be given the opportunity to meet all of you." She gestured at the group of lab coat donning people sitting at the opposite end of the stage, who all stood up at the mention of them.

Each one politely stated their name, where they were from, and what field they specialized in.

Then, they sat down, and Carla spoke again.

"I'm sure you all have your questions, and we will definitely try our best to answer them. But for now I think I speak for everyone in my team when I say we are so happy to be here.

"I have a question!" a familiar voice in the back of the room called out.

Carla gave a quick smile and replied, "Um, yes, I understand, but we're holding all questions to the en--"

Diane Creighton stood up and continued despite Carla's objection, "Yes, well, I'm a member of the PTA, and one of my biggest concerns is about our students. You're a scientist, and while that's great and all, I just want to know that our children won't be distracted or abducted for any crazy experiments you might hold."

Carla's beautiful brown eyes widened in alarm. She shook her head profusely and said, "No, ma'am, I can assure you we will not be performing any tests on _any_ residents, especially not children. We'd actually like to teach Night Vale's students more about science with permission from the schools. We believe knowledge should be shared, especially with our youth. Knowledge is power, after all!"

There were shocked murmurs throughout the hall. It was a well-known fact in Night Vale that knowledge was not only harmful, it was also forbidden. Those who knew too much were... well, _punished_. Beautiful or not, Carla could not possibly be so cruel as to subject children to _learning_! That's positively morbid!

Diane clutched her heart. "Ms. Scientist! That's horrible!"

"Of course, we'd also like to converse with the PTA to see what they'd think on the subject," Carla added, hoping she could get the crowd back on her side.

John Peters (you know, the farmer?) stood up next and asked, "What about my invisible corn crop? How do I know y'all ain't just here to take a bunch with you and sell them elsewhere on the black market? How do I know y'all won't poison my crops and study us when we're all dead?"

More murmurs of disapproval.

This press conference was turning bad very quickly.

Another voice echoed through the hall. It was an annoying husky voice that could only belong to one jerk in this entire town.

_**STEVE CARLSBERG.** _

Steve (jerk) stood up and asked, "How do we know you're all really scientists? How do we know you're not undercover operatives from a secret agency? People, I think these 'scientists' could be here to really harm us and our town! They could be dangerous!"

I'd had enough. "OH MY GOD, STEVE, NO ONE ASKED YOU!"

Another familiar voice, this time a female's, shouted back, "Leave my husband alone, Cecile! He has a valid point! They _could_ be dangerous!"

Abby. Of course my sister would defend Steve Carlsberg. Even if he was outrageously wrong all the time about everything.

The scientist who'd introduced himself as Bill started to get up and yell something back at Steve (something unpleasant and well-deserved, I'm sure), but Carla shushed him and took to the microphone again. "People, people, please listen to me! We are not here to harm anyone or take anyone's crops of... Did you say invisible corn?"

John stood up again and grinned proudly among the other citizens, thumbing the straps of his overalls. "It's a popular dish here in town." Everyone nodded. John's invisible corn was, indeed, famous.

"Interesting," Carla mused, nodding with everyone else. "But rest assured we are not here to sabotage or hurt or... _corrupt_... your youth. We're here purely for scientific reasons! We've heard stories of this town, _fantastical_ stories from former residents and previous visitors, and we came to study the strange things around here and try to help you good, good people! And from what I've observed in the few hours I've been here, Night Vale is, by far, the most scientifically interesting community in the US!"

Wait a minute. Did she just say...?

"Excuse me!" I stood up, switching on the tape recorder. "Cecile Palmer, Night Vale Community Radio. Can you repeat that, please?"

She blushed. "Oh, yes, Miss Palmer. Repeat what? I'm sorry."

"Can you repeat for my listeners what you just said, about the town and being interesting?"

Carla grinned, and it was so beautiful it made me ache. She stood up a little straighter and repeated, "Night Vale is, by far, the most scientifically interesting community in the United States. There's no other town anywhere near as fascinating as Night Vale, and my team of scientists and I came to figure out just what is going on around here."

I couldn't move. To take my eyes off her, to breathe, to do anything but give her my full attention would surely be the end of my existence. My hearts did metaphorical somersaults in my chest. My breathing became shallow. The hand holding up the tape recorder shook, and if I'd held on any tighter to it, it probably would've have been crushed by my grip, or would have slipped out of my grasp from all the sweat. She was so beautiful...

 _No_. No, not beautiful. That wasn't the right word.

The spotlights created a halo of around her long, dark hair, and her smile, that _dazzling_ smile, was everything right about the world.

Janice had to tug on my hand to pull me back into the seat, in my awestruck phase, and Carla went on to answer more questions. Some people were still not convinced of the scientists' innocence, but Carla treated each angry citizen with respect and patience. She was so... _Scientific!_ Was that the word I was looking for? Almost, but not quite.

"You okay, Aunt Ceec?" Janice whispered, one eyebrow raised.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I'm not sure, but I think I just fell in love."

*********

Carla the Scientist

 

The day before I left for Night Vale, _abuela_ had grabbed me by the shoulders and made me swear that I would not get into trouble. She had held me, with tears filling her warm brown eyes, and begged for me to be safe. 

"The world is a dangerous place, _mi hija_. There are bad people, people who will want to hurt you. Please, promise me you will not make these people angry. Promise me you'll come back in good health and happy spirits."

Despite the impossibility of this, I promised I'd be careful. I'd be careful about what I said. I'd watch where I'd step. My every step would be calculated and well-thought out.

Day 1 in town, and I had already broken that promise. (Sorry, _abuela_.)

After a less-than-stellar-but-not-quite-as-bad-as-anticipated town meeting, the team and I slipped through the sea of townspeople waiting outside of City Hall, who were all pointing and shouting "Inteeerrrloooopeerrr!" and made our way back (aptly named by Rochelle) to the "Science District".

Doe had just opened the bottle of champagne Miss Palmer had brought over earlier when the radio sitting atop the kitchen counter came on with a pop. Four more radios throughout the building did the same. There was a loud, staticky hum, and then a low, familiar voice spoke.

_A friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome... to Night Vale..._

We all stared at each other.

"Alright, who's joking around?" Bill asked, clearly annoyed. "Who turned this crap on?"

Everyone had been in the kitchen at the same time. No one had touched the radios. They'd somehow switched on by themselves.

I made a mental note to study that first thing tomorrow morning.

 _To start things off_ , Cecile said, _I’ve been asked to read this brief notice: The City Council announces the opening of a new Dog Park at the corner of Earl and Somerset, near the Ralph’s. They would like to remind everyone that dogs are not allowed in the Dog Park. People are not allowed in the Dog Park. It is possible you will see Hooded Figures in the Dog Park._

_**Do not approach them. Do not approach the Dog Park.** _

_The fence is electrified and highly dangerous. Try not to look at the Dog Park, and especially do not look for any period of time at the Hooded Figures. The Dog Park will not harm you..._

"What the fuck?!" Mickey was right. _What the fuck?_

"What kind of fucked up 1984, Twilight Zone bullshit did you get us into, Rodriguez?" Bill asked incredulously. "What kind of dog park doesn't allow dogs or people?!"

"And has hooded figures?" Joy chimed in, sipping her Erlenmeyer flask full of champagne.

"Guys, we knew it was going to be weird coming in. I'm sure it's no big de--

_A new woman came into town today. Who is she? What does she want from us? Why her perfect and beautiful haircut? Why her perfect and beautiful coat? She says she is a scientist. Well…we have all been scientists at one point or another in our lives. But why now? Why here? And just what does she plan to do with all those breakers and humming electrical instruments in that lab she’s renting – the one next to Big Rico’s Pizza?_

"Uhh..." 

**work in progress, not yet completely edited**


End file.
